Electric cables and particularly electric power cables for medium and high voltages may be composed of a plurality of polymer layers extruded around the electric conductor. In power cables the electric conductor is usually coated first with an inner semiconductor layer followed by an insulating layer, then an outer semiconductor layer followed by water barrier layers, if any, and on the outside a sheath layer. The layers of the cable are based on different types of ethylene plastics which usually are crosslinked.
The insulating layer and the semiconducting layers of an electric cable normally comprise an ethylene plastic. By the expression "ethylene plastic" is meant, generally and in connection with the present invention, a plastic based on ethylene home- and/or copolymers of ethylene, wherein the ethylene monomer constitutes the major part of the mass. Thus, polyethylene plastics may be composed of homopolymers or copolymers of ethylene, wherein the copolymers may be graft copolymers or copolymers of ethylene and one or more monomers which are copolymerisable with ethylene.
LDPE (low density polyethylene, i.e. polyethylene prepared by radical polymerisation at a high pressure) cross-linked by adding peroxide, for instance dicumyl peroxide, in connection with the extrusion of the cable, is today the predominant cable insulating material.
The inner semiconducting layer normally comprises an ethylene copolymer, such as an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA), or an ethylene-butyl acrylate copolymer (EBA) together with a sufficient amount of carbon black to make the composition semiconducting. The composition of the outer semiconducting layer differs depending on whether it has to be strippable or not. Normally a strippable semiconducting layer comprises an ethylene copolymer, such as an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), optionally together with an acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), and sufficient carbon black to make the composition semiconducting. A non-strippable (bonded), outer semiconducting layer may comprise EVA, EEA or EBA together with an amount of carbon black sufficient to make the composition semiconducting.
A limitation of ethylene plastic is its tendency to be exposed, in the presence of water and under the action of strong electric fields, to the formation of dendritically branched defects, so-called water trees, which can lead to breakdown and possible electric failure. This tendency is strongly affected by the presence of inhomogeneities, microcavities and impurities in the material. Water treeing has been studied carefully, especially since the 1970's, when polymer materials and, in particular, cross-linked polyethylene became the predominant insulating material for electric cables for medium and high voltages. In the past years, these studies have entailed improvements in the construction of the cables, the manufacturing procedure and the quality and cleanliness of the used materials. These improvements have resulted in an increased service life of the manufactured cables.
From European Patent Specification EP-A-0 057 604 it is known to inhibit water treeing by adding to a semiconducting composition, which mainly consists of a polyolefin and 5-50% by weight carbon black based on the weight of the total composition, a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of about 1000-20000 in an amount of 0.1-20% by weight. This composition is intended for semiconducting layers of electric cables and by adding polyethylene glycol, it is said to be possible to eliminate water trees which grow into the insulating layer from the interface between the insulating layer and the semiconducting layer.
Moreover, U.S. patent Specification U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,505 discloses a composition, which is usable as insulating layer in electric cables and which is resistant to water treeing. The composition comprises a copolymer of ethylene and at least one alpha-olefin having 4-8 carbon atoms, such as 1-butene, 1-hexane or 1-octene, and besides comprises a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight in the range of about 1000-20000 in an amount of 0.1-20% by weight.
In spite of the compositions according to the prior art and the resistance to water treeing that they afford, there is a need for materials having further improved properties with regard to water tree resistance (WTR), electrical breakdown strength and dielectric dissipation factor.